Poison Ivy

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Poison Ivy

R

1992

1h 31m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

38%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

36%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Dejected about her relationship with her father, Darryl (Tom Skerritt), a teen girl, Sylvie Cooper (Sara Gilbert), grows closer to a fiery fellow student named Ivy (Drew Barrymore). But as much as Sylvie craves Ivy's wildness, Ivy, in turn, is attracted to Sylvie's comfortable home life. Ivy seduces Darryl in an attempt to have that life for herself, and also takes steps to kill Sylvie's mother, Georgie (Cheryl Ladd), who is seriously ill, making it look like Sylvie is the guilty one.

Critics Consensus

An unpleasant thriller that lacks the self-awareness to dilute its sordid undertones, Poison Ivy is liable to give audiences a rash.

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Nina

Autostraddle

The title credits hadn't finished rolling and I knew this was going to become a favorite movie of mine.

Aug 13, 2021

Full Review

Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

Ambiguous and intriguing.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 11, 2008

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Variety Staff

Variety

Unfortunate thesps take it all very seriously, while technical aspects are emptily polished.

Feb 11, 2008

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an often astonishingly sluggish piece of work that proves unable to capture the viewer’s interest right from the get-go...

Rated: 1.5/4

May 24, 2023

Full Review

Hannah Engler

PopMatters

Poison Ivy provides a rare example of an adolescent role that seems grounded in the real desperation of adolescence.

May 5, 2022

Full Review

Chase Burns

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

I love Poison Ivy-but of course I love Poison Ivy, because I love the color red, and I love lots of rain in a movie, and I love horny melodrama.

Jan 20, 2022

Full Review

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Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 31 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $1,800,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/30/25

Full Review

Robyn M

Always watch this when it comes on TV.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/25/25

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the worst movies I've ever seen. And the music was really annoying in this film.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Pierre L

the horror of the seduction

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I found it very predictable and boring. Its pace is a bit slow. I skip parts of it just so that I knew exactly what happened and I still found it boring. Yet, less boring than it'd be if I had watched the whole thing. I think in great part this is due to the lack of depth of the characters. We know little about each of them, and none of them is likable or interesting.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I like the way Drew was teasing Tom sc

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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Andy Ruben

Director

Katt Shea

Director

Drew Barrymore

Ivy

Tom Skerritt

Darryl Cooper

Sara Gilbert

Sylvie Cooper

Cheryl Ladd

Georgie Cooper

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Synopsis

Dejected about her relationship with her father, Darryl (Tom Skerritt), a teen girl, Sylvie Cooper (Sara Gilbert), grows closer to a fiery fellow student named Ivy (Drew Barrymore). But as much as Sylvie craves Ivy's wildness, Ivy, in turn, is attracted to Sylvie's comfortable home life. Ivy seduces Darryl in an attempt to have that life for herself, and also takes steps to kill Sylvie's mother, Georgie (Cheryl Ladd), who is seriously ill, making it look like Sylvie is the guilty one.

Director: Andy Ruben, Katt Shea
Production Co: New Line Cinema, MG Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Nov 2, 1999
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.8M
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Surround